The Gulf: Moscow's Helping Hand?

Can the Soviet Union denounce Saddam Hussein's takeover of Kuwait, support the U.N.-imposed economic sanctions against him, and yet keep its own military advisers on the job in Iraq? The idea is troubling -- though perhaps not as sinister as some Western observers have suggested.

Peter Schweizer, an analyst with the little-known American Foreign Policy Council, created a stir last week when he wrote in the New York Times that 3,000 to 4,000 Soviet advisers were in Iraq with access to the top leadership. Therefore, he said, Moscow "almost certainly" knew about the Kuwait invasion ahead of time and may have...